Ljiljan Maksimovic Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 I possess an integrated soundcard (main board EPOX EP-8RDA3). I don't need anything better because I'm not a kind of music fan. By profession I'm an electrical engineer and I like to play with data acquisition. So, I tried to use my soundcard as an A/D converter. I applied very low voltage (0.3V) to my soundcard (LINE IN input) and wrote the computer programme to process the raw data obtained by this way. My soundcard proved to be just a little worse than professional a/d converters. Everything worked just fine. However, after a few days of experimenting I accidentally applied much higher voltage to my card. Nothing obvious happened at the first moment. Later, I realized that my LINE IN input didn't work properly - it didn't perform a/d conversion anymore and my left speaker was crackling (the speaker is ok, I checked it on the other computer). My computer is still under warranty but my dealer doesn't want to do anything to fix it. What can be done? The right side works properly, and it's ok. The malfunction of left side doesn't bother me so much, but inability to perform a/d conversion does. What can be done? Can I replace the integrated sound card? Or, I have to buy a new card (non-integrated)?I tried to reinstall my drivers but without any success. I'm not a connoisseur of computer hardware, but I understand the logic of it. Can I do anything to fix it?Any help please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rons Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Welcome to the forum.You can install a new sound card in your system if you have a available PCI slot in the system. That would be a white slot that is empty. Before installing the new card, you must disable the old card thru your BIOS. Your EPOX mobo manual should guide you thru the procedure on how to do this. If for some reason you do not have the manual, a copy may be obtained online.Newegg.com has a large variety of different sound cards and in different price ranges. NEWEGGHope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 I possess an integrated soundcard (main board EPOX EP-8RDA3). I don't need anything better because I'm not a kind of music fan. By profession I'm an electrical engineer and I like to play with data acquisition. So, I tried to use my soundcard as an A/D converter. I applied very low voltage (0.3V) to my soundcard (LINE IN input) and wrote the computer programme to process the raw data obtained by this way. My soundcard proved to be just a little worse than professional a/d converters. Everything worked just fine. However, after a few days of experimenting I accidentally applied much higher voltage to my card. Nothing obvious happened at the first moment. Later, I realized that my LINE IN input didn't work properly - it didn't perform a/d conversion anymore and my left speaker was crackling (the speaker is ok, I checked it on the other computer). My computer is still under warranty but my dealer doesn't want to do anything to fix it. What can be done? The right side works properly, and it's ok. The malfunction of left side doesn't bother me so much, but inability to perform a/d conversion does. What can be done? Can I replace the integrated sound card? Or, I have to buy a new card (non-integrated)?I tried to reinstall my drivers but without any success. I'm not a connoisseur of computer hardware, but I understand the logic of it. Can I do anything to fix it?Any help please!If you are willing to get a soldering iron anywhere near a modern MB, you're a braver person than I. Particularly when generic PCI sound cards are so cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Yes, I think Rons really has the right answer here!You can also find many good deals by searching on Google. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=buy+s...G=Google+Search a result on buy sound card.I often check that way, and then head to specific places like NewEgg.com, Buy.com, eCost.com, TigerDirect.com, and hit some of the comparison places like, PriceWatch.com and others. I will even hit some of the outlet sites like SurplusComputers.com, 3BTech.net, and TechForLess.com and compare pricing before buying. I also check locally like at CircuitCity.com but often I can do better elsewhere, unless the shipping makes it more expensive overall.You are talking about soldering on a multi-layer motherboard with built-in sound card. I would not even think about getting close with a soldering iron to try to fix this.My Jim has fixed PS/2 on motherboards (by jumpering trace lines and stuff like that), and he has certainly replaced capacitors to bring back a dying motherboard, but this is likely way too intricate for even him to try.To prove the point, my Jim had a motherboard similar to this one, where the entire line output section got fried, he started using the CD output for certain things. On another board he just put in another sound card. And he's an electronics technician who is not afraid to fix anything if it's worth fixing.lewmur is right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burninbush Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 What can be done? Can I replace the integrated sound card? Or, I have to buy a new card (non-integrated)?I tried to reinstall my drivers but without any success. I'm not a connoisseur of computer hardware, but I understand the logic of it. Can I do anything to fix it?Any help please!Well -- buy a nice Audigy or TurtleBeach card, disable your onboard in cmos setup. And then .... put some sort of voltage limiting diodes across your external line inputs!! My instant guess, a pair of silicon signal diodes would limit your voltage excursions to +/- .6 volts, probably safe for any card. Then, an external signal conditioner box [op-amps] could scale any voltage you might want to measure to where it would fit the range of ~~ 0 +/- .5v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ljiljan Maksimovic Posted April 16, 2006 Author Share Posted April 16, 2006 Well -- buy a nice Audigy or TurtleBeach card, disable your onboard in cmos setup. And then .... put some sort of voltage limiting diodes across your external line inputs!! My instant guess, a pair of silicon signal diodes would limit your voltage excursions to +/- .6 volts, probably safe for any card. Then, an external signal conditioner box [op-amps] could scale any voltage you might want to measure to where it would fit the range of ~~ 0 +/- .5v.Thanks guys! I really didn't know that sound cards are so cheap now. I remember the time, some 9 or 10 years ago, when they were more than $70. After that, they were all on board and I wasn't interested in that stuff too much. I'm not in the US. I live in Bosnia (where $70 is almost one tenth of my monthly salary). I heard that sound cards can perform a/d conversion and I tried to make a cheap home-made system for constant measurement, processing and recording of supply voltage harmonics, dips... I obtained really great results! The sound card proved to be a good solution because its signal-to-noise ratio was about 50dB (just fine for this kind of measurement). I’m not sure whether I may use diodes, because I guess they would distort my signal (I need both positive and negative values of signal)?! I was using a transformer 230/12 with voltage divider (I’m not sure if this is the correct term) 30k+680 ohms connected to its secondary. Thus I got 680/30680 of 12V (RMS) and applied that to my card. Then the day before yesterday…What is the highest value of voltage that should be applied to the card? +/- 0.6V (peak values)? I’m power electrical engineer and I’m not acquainted with this stuff too much. Can anybody recommend me some good e-book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.